Spooky; that panel with the countless limbs looks just like Brother Tom’s robe in the scene where Ulak and Ashok were at the convention. IT ALL MAKES SENSE NOW. (I’m slow)
I get the impression his powers are more about incineration and destruction than anything else. When he bursted out onto the scene initially, he probably didn’t so much control the earth as tear through it like a hot knife through butter.
I suspect however that Gaia may be about to make a tag team appearance. And I suspect her control powers with Tectonicus’s area DPS shtick is going to be more than enough to take care of the Purple People Eater (or is this the Countless?)
We haven’t seen anyone but the primary characters for a while, as this end-of-the-world is playing out. We haven’t even seen Bandit or E-Merl lately.
I’m not sure if this is simply the nature of narrative focus, or an effect of the world ending — that everyone else is already gone. (I’ve seen other end-of-the-world stories in which that’s happening, and it feels like this. The CRPG, Transistor, comes to mind.)
Last we saw E-merl, he was standing a few yards away from Penk & Magda, behind Magda’s firewall (an apt plot device for multiple reasons). So I suspect he’s okay… for the moment.
I’m wondering if we’ll find out in Sepia World that most players were booted off the server, and they’re grumbling about lagging out in the middle of a big event that the server couldn’t handle.
Hmm. Given purplething’s absorb-on-contact schtick, things are not looking good for Arkerra. However, it would kinda suck for the story to end with a grossly OP mob destroying the MMORPG, and Campbell & Kahn know this. So… how can the good guys win?
Possibility: Yes, Tectonicus gets eaten/absorbed by purplething… but Tectonicus has a lot of faithful worshippers, most of whom are unaware of the fix Techtonicus is currently in, and their devotion isn’t going to just dissipate into the void. So maybe we see Tectonicus 2.0 rise up from the ground to stomp purplething?
Possibility: After nomming Tectonicus, purplething goes after the single most powerful entity around: H.R. Purplething tries to absorb H.R., H.R. resists, and they end up obliterating each other.
Possibility: Purplething just keeps absorbing everything, H.R. included, and eventually it runs out of stuff to absorb. Purplething starves to death… and the spirits of the Five, which weren’t absorbed cuz Souls, form the nucleus around which a new Arkerra condenses.
This is in no way an exhaustive list, just the first three options that came to mind…
The conversation between the Five and H.R. a few pages set this up as about egotism. In different ways, each of the Five got into this because they were a bit too much in their own heads; they each overcame it. H.R., by contrast, has kept doubling down on his egotistic self-absorption.
Setting aside the fantastic element for a moment: what’s it like to be a server admin of a multi-player game server, or a game master in a tabletop RPG, who abuses their authority? It’s amusing at first, but eventually, you’re just alienating the players while amusing yourself, in a system in which you have unlimited authority. The players will either leave outright, or will be so disengaged they may as well have left.
To put it another way: the Five have been arcs about learning to care about others; H.R. has been forgetting what little he knew about it.
My guess is that H.R. will “win”, and realize he’s won nothing but a nightmare of utter loneliness.
In some sense, the Five will come out okay, I’m sure. I’m not sure whether they’ll finally choose one world over another, or find a way to exist in both.
Oh, one other thought: I think there’s some foreshadowing in that H.R. took over a nihilistic death cult, and we met a cultist who decided that H.R. represented something more horrible than nihilism and death.
That’s a spiiiicy meat-a-ball!
I can’t believe I ate the whoooole thing.
(these old Aqua Seltzer commercials really fit this page).
“You ate it, Ralph!”
Or was it, “You ate it? Ralph!”
Acid reflux *really* BURNS.
Plop
Plop
Fizz
Fizz
Ahhhh…
OH MAN! GODZILLA VS. THE SMOG MONSTER, REDUX!
And BTW, doesn’t the purple god eater look suspiciously like the Grinch in panel 5, especially at the top with that evil smile?
I’m amazed at the way he still looks like Taro.
They’re related. But the Grinch denies it and won’t have anything to do with that branch of the family.
Hope that the monster is enjoying Tectonicus while he can, because the indigestion from fire gods hits harder than troll gumbo.
No matter your tolerance to spicy food, the experience remains the same on the exit route.
It puts a whole new meaning to the song, “Ring of Fire”. ;)
Methinks someone is about to get a bad case of heartburn soon…
Or maybe it’ll be like Alien.
Or Spaceballs…
(All together now:) “Hello my baby, hello my darling..!”
Oopsie
Om nom nom
Oh s#%$!
Holy shit.
… If Tectonicus takes the rear exit, that is.
Oh no he dint.
Tectonicus! Use your special attack, Heartburn!
Well. This is Less Good.
From the Teachings of Tectonicus, in the book of Furman: Time to give this creature the WORST CASE OF INDIGESTION it’s ever had!!
Spooky; that panel with the countless limbs looks just like Brother Tom’s robe in the scene where Ulak and Ashok were at the convention. IT ALL MAKES SENSE NOW. (I’m slow)
cue exploding purple monster next update
Tectonicus is a lava not a fighter.
But then…Lava conquers All in the end.
It looks so fire-goddamn satisfied with itself in that last panel. It’s almost cute.
Tectonicus lost? I’m having a hard time swallowing this.
Careful: What burns coming in usually burns coming out.
All those smiles will turn upside down, when Tectonicus changes to his “Pyroclastic Flow” form.
That purple monster is going to come down with a nasty case of Tectonicus’ Revenge.
Tectonicus has a special martial arts kata that he invented, called Constipated Volcano. Everyone dreads when that attack breaks loose.
Amorphous Monster that assimilates matter and feeds on energy vs. giant fiery punchy-hitty thing. Really, there was no other way this could go.
I guess HR has a ??? amount of hitpoints.
Uh oh, there goes Tectonicus! As said before though, “is it flammable?”
Awww, poor Tectonicus.
Panel-by-panel Response:
1: Yes!
2: Yeeeeeesssssss!!
3: …no.
4. No!
5. Nooooooooooo!!!!
shouldnt tectonicus be able to do the same thing, but like, with the earth?
I get the impression his powers are more about incineration and destruction than anything else. When he bursted out onto the scene initially, he probably didn’t so much control the earth as tear through it like a hot knife through butter.
I suspect however that Gaia may be about to make a tag team appearance. And I suspect her control powers with Tectonicus’s area DPS shtick is going to be more than enough to take care of the Purple People Eater (or is this the Countless?)
You mean Graiya, and YES!!! Tectonicus/Graiya tag team! Tectaiya! WOOOOT!
Graitayacus.
And Graiya from the top rope!
We haven’t seen anyone but the primary characters for a while, as this end-of-the-world is playing out. We haven’t even seen Bandit or E-Merl lately.
I’m not sure if this is simply the nature of narrative focus, or an effect of the world ending — that everyone else is already gone. (I’ve seen other end-of-the-world stories in which that’s happening, and it feels like this. The CRPG, Transistor, comes to mind.)
Last we saw E-merl, he was standing a few yards away from Penk & Magda, behind Magda’s firewall (an apt plot device for multiple reasons). So I suspect he’s okay… for the moment.
Chapter 49, Page 14, Last Panel
Yeah, you’re right, that’s pretty close at hand.
I’m wondering if we’ll find out in Sepia World that most players were booted off the server, and they’re grumbling about lagging out in the middle of a big event that the server couldn’t handle.
I have faith in you, hovertext! Don’t give me false hope!
Hmm. Given purplething’s absorb-on-contact schtick, things are not looking good for Arkerra. However, it would kinda suck for the story to end with a grossly OP mob destroying the MMORPG, and Campbell & Kahn know this. So… how can the good guys win?
Possibility: Yes, Tectonicus gets eaten/absorbed by purplething… but Tectonicus has a lot of faithful worshippers, most of whom are unaware of the fix Techtonicus is currently in, and their devotion isn’t going to just dissipate into the void. So maybe we see Tectonicus 2.0 rise up from the ground to stomp purplething?
Possibility: After nomming Tectonicus, purplething goes after the single most powerful entity around: H.R. Purplething tries to absorb H.R., H.R. resists, and they end up obliterating each other.
Possibility: Purplething just keeps absorbing everything, H.R. included, and eventually it runs out of stuff to absorb. Purplething starves to death… and the spirits of the Five, which weren’t absorbed cuz Souls, form the nucleus around which a new Arkerra condenses.
This is in no way an exhaustive list, just the first three options that came to mind…
The conversation between the Five and H.R. a few pages set this up as about egotism. In different ways, each of the Five got into this because they were a bit too much in their own heads; they each overcame it. H.R., by contrast, has kept doubling down on his egotistic self-absorption.
Setting aside the fantastic element for a moment: what’s it like to be a server admin of a multi-player game server, or a game master in a tabletop RPG, who abuses their authority? It’s amusing at first, but eventually, you’re just alienating the players while amusing yourself, in a system in which you have unlimited authority. The players will either leave outright, or will be so disengaged they may as well have left.
To put it another way: the Five have been arcs about learning to care about others; H.R. has been forgetting what little he knew about it.
My guess is that H.R. will “win”, and realize he’s won nothing but a nightmare of utter loneliness.
In some sense, the Five will come out okay, I’m sure. I’m not sure whether they’ll finally choose one world over another, or find a way to exist in both.
Oh, one other thought: I think there’s some foreshadowing in that H.R. took over a nihilistic death cult, and we met a cultist who decided that H.R. represented something more horrible than nihilism and death.
Noooooooo! Not Tectonicus, he was my favorite character! His emotional arc was so powerful!! *sniff*
This is not dead which can eternal lie